Where There's Smoke
by McAbbyAddict
Summary: When Abby needs help, who else can she turn to? Terrible summary. McAbby. I've changed the rating to T for safety's sake. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: Ok, so I know I already have one WIP, which I haven't posted on in a while. I was hoping to have another chapter of 'Internal Damage' posted by now, but I haven't written another yet... here's why**

**Some of you might have heard of the massive flooding in Toowoomba, the Lockyer Valley, Ipswich and Brisbane in Queensland, Australia over the last few days. I live in Toowoomba, and was on my way back from Brisbane when the flash flooding hit Toowoomba. Two of my friends and I were cut off from home, stranded at a roadside McDonalds. We decided to stay and wait til the Toowoomba road reopened rather than turn around and go back to Brisbane. Eventually the road to Brisbane was cut too, the McDonalds flooded briefly (scary, btw), and then we were taken to an emergency shelter. It took us 3 days to get home from Brisbane, which is normally a 90 minute drive. We finally got home around 6 hours ago.**

**While it was all going down, I had a whole bunch of time spent sitting and waiting for something to change, so I wrote this on my iPhone. Formatting might be screwy subsequently**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters etc.**

McGee sighed as he unlocked his front door. It had been a gruelling two days, made tougher by the absence of Gibbs- he was in Stillwater, visiting his father. McGee had drunk almost as much Caf-Pow in the last two days as Abby, trying to crack a particularly difficult encryption on their suspect's hard drive. But it was Friday, they didn't have the weekend duty, they'd finally wrapped up the case they were working on and the caffeine high was definitely wearing off. All McGee wanted now was a good 12 hours of sleep.

He dumped his backpack by the door and headed for the bathroom. He took a long shower, letting the hot water work some of the tension out of his muscles, then collapsed into bed. He was asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

The sound of his cell phone ringing woke him. He'd had- he checked the time- just over 2 hours sleep. This had better be good. He picked up the phone from where it sat on the nightstand, squinting at the caller id. He raised an eyebrow at the number. Abby. That was odd. Abby barely spoke to him anymore, and he couldn't remember the last time she called.

"Hello" There was silence at the other end. Maybe she was just pocket dialling?

"Hello? Abby, are you there?" he waited for a second with no response. He was about to hang up when he heard a small voice at the other end of the line

"Ti-Timmy?" she was sobbing.

"Abs, what's wrong?" he was immediately worried. It took a lot to make Abby cry

"I- I need help... there was a fire, and-and" she starting sobbing harder

He threw back the blankets and swung his legs around

"Abs, calm down. Where are you?"

"My building"

"I'll be there as soon as I can. Just stay there"

He broke the connection, not giving Abby a chance to reply. He stood up and grabbed the clothes that he'd shed on his way to the shower a few hours earlier, pulling them on as quickly as he could while heading for the front door.

He got in his Porsche and started it, gunning the engine as he pulled out of the parking lot. Now was the time to drive like Gibbs.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Ok, this one is a little longer than the last. Hope you enjoy it! **

**Thanks for the good wishes, also everyone. Very odd trying to settle back into normality after the last few days! F.**

McGee drove across town, weaving the sports car through the constant DC traffic. His mind was on Abby's phone call. She'd sounded so upset. And it had been a very long time since she'd called him Timmy, at least not without it sounding like an insult. As he got closer to her street, he could see the red glow on the horizon and hear the sirens, and sped up.

He turned the car into Abby's block and screeched to a halt. The street was blocked by fire engines, all pouring water onto a building partway down the block. Abby's building.

He jumped out of the car and near sprinted down the block to the cordon of police officers and fire-fighters. They moved to block his path at the taped off area, so he flashed his badge, not giving them time to identify his agency. This wasn't really an NCIS issue. They let him duck under the tape, closing ranks behind him to prevent gawkers.

There were a lot of people standing inside the tape, watching the flames climb into the sky. He figured they must be residents, and headed towards the group, searching for Abby. She was standing slightly off to one side, watching the fire with tears sliding down her face

"Abby" he called out to her

She spun, looking around "Timmy!" she cried as she spotted him, rushing towards him. She threw herself against him, knocking the air out of him. He held her for a moment before releasing her, making her take a step back so he could look her in the eye.

"Are you ok, Abs? What happened?" he could feel her trembling

"I-I don't really know, Tim. I was out and then I came home and I couldn't get down my street and then I saw the flames and-"she was talking a mile a minute

"Slow down, Abs"

"Sorry" she took a deep breath "I overheard the fire-fighters, they think it started in the kitchen of one of the apartments on the 3rd floor" He knew that her apartment was on the 4th floor. She took another shaky breath "My apartment is right about there" she pointed to a spot right in the centre of the flames "I asked, they said it was totally destroyed"

Aghast, he reached out and pulled her into a tight hug

"Abs, I'm so sorry"

"I don't have anything left, Timmy. What am I going to do?" she sounded incredibly forlorn, so he pulled her even closer, trying to comfort her.

"You can come stay with me, Abs. As long as you need" she pulled away, looking up at him. Apparently she found what she was looking for in his face, because she laid her head back against his chest

"Thanks, Tim. You're a good friend" the words were like tiny barbs, even though they were said in total sincerity. He didn't want to just be her friend. Lately it seemed like he wasn't even that any more. But he'd settle for what he could get.

He held her for a moment longer, then let her go.

"Come on; let's get you out of here"

He let the emergency personnel know that he was taking Abby away from the scene and gave them his cell phone number so that they could contact him if they needed to. Then he led her back to the car, making sure that she was settled comfortably in the passenger seat.

He stopped at a drugstore on the way to his apartment so she could pick up necessities like a toothbrush. Unfortunately it was too late at night for anything else to be open. She'd have to borrow a shirt or something of his to sleep in tonight.

She was silent on the drive, too quiet for Abby. He kept taking sideways glances at her, trying to see if she was still crying, but her face was in shadow. She'd dozed off by the time they reached his apartment. He went around to her side of the car and gently shook her awake

"Wake up, Abby"

She blinked blearily, focusing on his face

"Come on, Abs, let's get you upstairs" he helped her out of the car, grabbing the bag of toiletries from behind his seat before he locked it. He let her into his apartment, watching her slow movements with concern. She was still so quiet, but he knew from experience that she'd talk when she was ready. He busied himself with making preparations for her stay, finding her a towel and an old MIT t-shirt and shorts for her to wear for the night. She watched him move around the apartment, still not saying a word.

"Can I get you anything to eat, Abs?" he broke the silence. She just shook her head. "Ok, why don't you go and have a shower? I'll make up the bed in the spare room for you" he handed her the bag of toiletries, towel and clothes, then got spare sheets and blanket out of the cabinet. He'd make the bed in the spare room for her while she got cleaned up, that way she could go straight to bed when she got out of the shower. She had to be exhausted.

Abby leaned against the wall of McGee's shower, letting the hot water cascade across her back. It was still unreal, the loss of her apartment. She was insured, sure, but that didn't bring back everything that she'd lost. Her coffin, her voodoo dolls, her antique black lace parasol... all her clothes... she tried to hold the tears back, but couldn't. Thank God for McGee and his generosity. Even though she'd been treating him badly lately, she could still count on his unfailing support.

She sighed. She really did owe Tim an apology for the way she'd been acting lately. Especially if she was going to be staying here for a while. At the moment, he was being solicitous because he was worried about her, but sooner or later that would change. He'd start remembering the hundred little snappy things she'd said to him recently, and then the trouble would start. The problem was, she didn't really know where to begin with an apology. She didn't really know herself why she'd been so snappy with her best friend. She'd have to cross that bridge when she came to it.

She turned the water off, sighing again as she dried off and wrapped the towel around her wet hair. She didn't want to think about her apartment right now, she just wanted to sleep. She'd worry about everything in the morning.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: This is a short one, but I had to leave it where I did. More later! F.**

McGee looked up as Abby shuffled out of the bathroom. He'd been watching the TV, volume set low.

"Feel better?"

She nodded

He came over to her, holding out the cordless phone he used as his landline. "You might wanna call Gibbs, Abby. ZNN has picked up on the fire, and if he sees it and recognises your building..."

She took the phone off him. He was right, Gibbs would recognise her building if he saw the news report, and it wouldn't surprise her if he was awake. She looked at the speed dial numbers. Gibbs' cell was #2.

"Yeah, Gibbs" he sounded awake

"Gibbs, it's Abby." She walked up the short hallway towards the bedrooms as she spoke to Gibbs, leaving McGee's earshot. That was fine by him. She came back a few minutes later, handing him the phone.

"Why don't you go to bed, Abs? The spare room is all ready for you" he told her

Unexpectedly she slid her arms around his waist, hugging him to her

"Thanks, Tim"

"Anytime, Abs" he said as she released him and headed back up the hall.

He wandered around the apartment, turning off the lights on his way to his room. He paused by her closed door, making sure she was ok before climbing back into bed. Hopefully she'd feel better in the morning. He faded off to sleep.

A noise woke him a short while later. Instantly alert, he listened for the noise to repeat itself. It did a moment later, and his shoulders sagged. It was the sound of Abby's muffled crying. He got out of bed and went to her door, tapping on it gently

"Abs, are you ok?" she didn't reply so he hesitated, debating whether to open her door. She hated for people to see her cry

"Tim?" she sounded so sad, so he opened the door. She was curled up in a ball in the bed, and she'd obviously been crying for a while. His heart went out to her. He sat on the side of the bed, trying to soothe her."It will be ok, Abs. I know that's not much help right now, but it will be". He reached out and smoothed a stray lock of hair away from her eyes. As if the small action caused a dam wall to break, she started talking

"I've lost everything, Timmy. My books, my computers, my coffin- do you know how hard it was to find that coffin? - all of my clothes, and photos, and even my hearse, it was in the parking lot-"

Unable to stand the pain in her eyes, he moved closer and pulled her into a hug. "I'm just glad you're ok, Abs" he told her. That made her cry even harder, so he stayed there, holding her close until the sobs eased. When she was calm again, he let her go and went to stand up, to go back to his room. She caught his hand, stopping him.

"Tim... Stay?"

It was more of a plea than a request. Looking down at her troubled face, he heard himself agree, then mentally kicked himself. Sharing the same bed as Abby was not a good idea. Resigning himself to the inevitable, he lay down on top of the covers next to her.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Ok, slow but important chapter. Might even have the next chapter up tonight if the brain keeps working lol. F**

He awoke slowly, momentarily disoriented. What was he doing in the spare bed? And more importantly, who was resting on his chest?

He looked down at the head of black hair. It was instantly recognizable, and the events of the previous night came flooding back. The fire. Abby in tears. Taking her to stay at his apartment. Her asking him to stay with her.

This wasn't a good idea. He'd reacted instinctively to her plea for help by telling her she could stay with him, but... He'd always had to exercise a large amount of self control around her at work. How much harder was having her stay going to be? He sighed. He knew that no matter how hard it was on him, he'd give her whatever she needed from him. He always had.

She stirred, then froze as she realised she was lying on his chest. Slowly she looked up. He struggled to keep his face neutral as he watched her expression change. Shock, surprise, a tinge of fear, then finally remembrance crossed her face in turn.

"Uh, morning Abs" he murmured. She just kept looking at him. Trying to break the awkwardness, he continued "I was thinking, we should go and see if your hearse was damaged at all, it may not have been you know" Still no reaction. He took a deep breath

"Ok, this is really awkward. So, if you'll let me up, I'm going to go take a shower, and then I'll take you wherever you need to go" he paused

"In case you're worried about last night Abs, nothing happened. You were upset, I came to see if you were ok, you asked me to stay with you, and we fell asleep. That's it." Still silence. "Seriously Abby, say something"

"It's been a long time since we woke up like this, Tim."

Inwardly he winced, hoping the quick shaft of pain wasn't visible on his face. He nodded.

"Seven years, Abs" he confirmed. His eyes were intent on her face. This wasn't normal Abby behaviour. Swiftly she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek, then rolled to her feet and walked down the hall. He got up more slowly and headed for the bathroom. He needed a shower. A cold shower.

Abby sat at McGee's computer desk, staring into space. She'd been trying to make a list of everything she needed to do today, but other thoughts kept intruding. She'd acted on impulse the night before, knowing she just didn't want to be alone. But she didn't expect this. Waking up in Tim's arms had felt- right, somehow. And him trying to reassure her had given her the almost overpowering desire to reach forward that little bit and kiss him senseless. She'd controlled that somehow, at least mostly. What was wrong with her? She spent the last few months being inexplicably irritated by him, now she was attracted to him?

She heard the shower turn off down the hall and quickly started filling the coffee maker. She knew he always started the day with coffee, and she could sure use the caffeine. Plus it gave her something to distract herself with. While the coffee was brewing, she ducked down the hall and got dressed, unwillingly putting on the clothes she'd worn yesterday. They smelled like smoke, but what choice did she have? One of the things she had to do today was definitely buy clothes. Her credit card was going to take a beating. She carefully folded the clothes Tim had lent her and put them on the end of the bed. They smelled like him. The thought made her smile, which just made her even more confused.

He was in the kitchen making toast when she entered. He jerked his head towards the table where a plate of toast and a cup of coffee sat

"Made you some breakfast, Abs. We've got a long day ahead of us"

She smiled her thanks, feeling slightly tongue tied. He made her breakfast? It'd been a very long time since someone had done that for her. Seven years, as a matter of fact. She shook her head to clear it. This was getting silly.

He slid into the seat across from her with his own breakfast in hand

"So, what do you want to do first?" he asked.

Forcing herself to concentrate, they began discussing plans for the day.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Not sure if I like this chapter, but I needed the transition. F.**

Abby spent most of the drive across town to the remains of her building on Tim's cell phone, calling her insurance company. Her cell phone had gone flat in the night, and his charger didn't fit her phone. He added it to his mental list of things that needed replacing. He didn't know if Abby had thought about the little things she needed to get. From Abby's tone he gathered that the 'customer service agent' wasn't being very helpful. It appeared they needed her policy number. Abby had to explain at least twice that her policy had been burned with everything else. He had to hide a grin as she got more and more frustrated. He'd been on the receiving end of a severely annoyed Abby rant himself; he couldn't help but pity the customer service agent just a little.

Finally she got through to someone that was actually helpful; they promised to send an insurance assessor over as soon as the fire department had released their report into the cause of the fire. She hung up the phone and made a disgusted noise in the back of her throat. She shot him a look, almost daring him to laugh at her. He kept as straight a face as he could; he didn't really want to spend the day with a pissed off Abby.

"Right, so where do we start Abs?" he asked "Obviously, after we check on your hearse" he trailed off at her glare. She sighed. "Sorry, Tim, that stupid woman really got on my nerves. After we see whether I still have a car, I really need to buy some clothes. Among other things." She paused for a moment "Actually, I'm going to have to be careful what I replace for now" At his questioning look, she elaborated "Not that much left on my credit card. Some of the stuff I want to buy is going to have to wait until the insurance comes through"

Keeping his gaze fixed firmly on the windshield of the car, he offered "Put whatever won't fit on your credit card on mine. " There was dead silence from the seat next to him. He risked a sideways glance at her. She looked stunned. "I'm serious, Abs."

"Tim- thanks, but I couldn't do that" she sounded a little overwhelmed "I hate to impose and you've already let me stay at your place-"he cut her off "If it's about the money, then fine, pay me back when the insurance comes through"

"It's too much, Tim"

"Oh, come on Abby. You need to replace some of your things now, not in a few months when they pay out your insurance policy. And it's not like you're going to replace the big stuff like furniture yet anyway"

"Well-"she was almost convinced, he could see that."I'll even carry your bags, and not complain about it"

"Ok, fine, let's do it." He laughed at her excitement as he pulled the car to the kerb near her building. They got out of the car and walked down the block to the remains of her building.

It looked even worse in the daylight than it did last night. The fire had been out for hours, although an engine was nearby in case the rubble flared up again. The roof of the building had collapsed, leaving jagged black spars sticking up to the sky. Abby went pale at the sight of it. He put his arm around her shoulders protectively, steering her towards the parking lot to one side of the building.

The parking lot was a mess. The fire fighters had sprayed the cars down with foam to help prevent the chance of them exploding; it was hard to recognise the cars under the foamy residue, let alone get a good look at them. He felt Abby's shoulders sag under his arm

"Well, I guess that answers that question then" her voice was tight, as if it was just one too many shocks. He pulled her around into a quick hug, then released her "It still could be ok, Abs". He handed her his cell phone so that she could make yet another phone call to an insurance company. This one was a lot more helpful, arranging to have her car towed to a holding yard pending assessment.

That organised, they sat in McGee's car for a few moments in silence. Trying to restore some semblance of her good mood, McGee racked his brain for something that might cheer her up. Finally he hit on something. He picked up his cell phone and hit one of the speed dial buttons.

"Ziva"

"Hey Ziva, its McGee"

"McGee? Is something the matter?" he opened the door and got out, not wanting to be overheard

"Look, there was a fire last night-"

"Oh yes, I saw it on the news" she broke in

"Well, it was Abby's building. She's ok, but her apartment was totally destroyed. She's lost everything, Ziva. She could really use cheering up, and she needs to shop for new clothes. I was hoping you could help her with that"

"Certainly, McGee. I will meet you in say, an hour?"

'Thanks, Ziva, I know Abby will appreciate it" he arranged where to meet her, then climbed back into the car. He started the engine and pulled back onto the street. The mall where they were meeting Ziva was a 20 minute drive away.

"So what was that about, Tim?"

"Thought you might want a little company shopping, Abs. I'm not good with clothes, you know that"

She laughed at him for that one, but he deserved it.

They got to the mall with about half an hour to spare before meeting Ziva, so he suggested replacing the few things he could help with; a new charger for her cell phone, a new iPod and they started looking at new stereo systems before McGee's phone rang. It was Ziva, calling to let them know she was waiting for them.

He spent the rest of the afternoon trailing in their wake, carrying an ever increasing number of shopping bags. He didn't look in them out of an innate courtesy, but he could see they contained clothes, ornaments and a seemingly endless supply of boots. The thought occurred to him that the Porsche really didn't have enough trunk space to fit all this shopping. Abby really was indulging in some retail therapy. They might have to call a cab for all of this. At least being a packhorse allowed him time to think. He'd noticed earlier in the day that Abby hadn't called him McGee since last night. That was definitely odd. Even when they were dating she'd still called him by his surname fairly often. He supposed it was a measure of how shaken up she was by the fire; he'd know she was feeling better when she started referring to him by his last name again.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Abby sighed. She'd bought so much stuff while shopping with Ziva that she'd ended up taking a cab back to McGee's apartment; they just hadn't been able to fit all the bags in the tiny trunk of McGee's admittedly otherwise fabulous Porsche. She was somewhat glad of the comparative privacy, as much as she'd enjoyed the day out with Ziva and McGee. She wanted time to analyse the strange feelings she was having about Tim. With that aim in mind, she laid her head back against the headrest of the cab's backseat and closed her eyes. She went over the events of the day in her mind, reliving the moment she woke curled up against his chest, the feeling of comfort she got when he hugged her after they saw her car... she rapidly moved to daydreaming about Tim, then pulled herself up when she realised. She had to stop this. It could take weeks for her to find another apartment, and in the meantime she didn't want to make this any more awkward than necessary. She could go and stay with Gibbs, or Ducky, if she needed to, but truth be told, she didn't really want to leave McGee's apartment. She was comfortable there.

The cab pulled up in front of McGee's apartment, and he hurried down the steps to carry the multitude of bags. He paid the cabbie off for her, and then led the way back upstairs. Unlocking the door, he deposited the bags in the spare room.

"Thank God for new clothes, Tim. If I don't change out of these soon, I'm going to go totally crazy" she informed him. He laughed a little but took the hint, retreating down the hallway to give her some privacy. Feeling much better for the change of clothes, she wandered down the hall a few minutes later and flopped down on the couch beside him. He turned to look at her, fishing in his pocket for something

"Before I forget, I got this cut for you" he handed her a key. "You're going to need it if you stay here for long; you know what work can be like. And feel free to make yourself at home, Abs."

She started to apologise for imposing, but he cut her off "You're always welcome here, Abby. And besides, its kinda fun having a roommate again. Any ideas what you want to do about dinner?"

They ordered Chinese food delivered. When it came, he watched her pick at her food for a few minutes. Something was clearly on her mind. Suddenly, she put the container of chow mein down and turned towards him

"Tim?"

"Yeah, Abs?"

"I just wanted to say thanks" she saw he was about to cut her off, so she forestalled him with a raised hand "Let me finish. Seriously, Tim, thank you for everything. You've been so good to me, and I know I don't deserve it. I haven't been treating you very nicely lately" she saw the muscles in his jaw tighten, and knew that her attitude towards him had hurt. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I don't really know why I've been acting the way I have. I just can't seem to stop myself from saying these little cutting things recently. Anyway, I just really want to go back to being friends again. Ok?"

For a horrible moment she thought he was going to reject her truce, but then she saw his eyes soften and she knew she'd been forgiven

"Friends, Abs" Smiling to herself, she went back to her dinner.

After they'd finished eating, he made popcorn and put a movie on. It was like old times. She'd missed this, the time spent hanging out with her best friend. She curled up on the couch beside him, leaning against his shoulder. He grinned down at her, that big grin that was so McGee. It made her pulse race. 'Calm down' she told herself 'this is just McGee'. She forced herself to pay attention to the screen, losing herself in the movie. Just over halfway through the film, she fell asleep against him, resting her head on his shoulder.

Smiling tenderly down at her sleeping form, McGee contemplated waking her so she could get some proper sleep in her bed, then decided against it. She looked so peaceful. He wrapped an arm around her, smiling wider as he felt her snuggle deeper into his side. Unwilling to move, he dozed off still holding her. On the edge of sleep, the thought crossed his mind that he could get used to her using him as a pillow

He awoke the next morning in a weird position. During the night, they'd somehow twisted, so that he was half sitting, half lying against the arm of the couch. She had both arms wrapped around his waist, her head on his chest. Cautiously, so he didn't wake her, he tilted his head from side to side to try and ease the crick in his neck. She raised her head and looked at him.

"Morning, Abs. How long have you been awake?"

"A few minutes. I didn't want to disturb you. This is becoming a habit, Tim"

"You never could stay awake for an entire movie" he teased. She flushed slightly, her eyes still fixed on his face

"Abby? Is something wrong?" he asked

"Huh? Sorry, I guess I zoned out for a minute" she sat up, allowing him to stretch his slightly cramped muscles.

"So what do you want to do today, Abs? More shopping?" his voice was light but his eyes were wary. He'd had more than enough of clothes shops yesterday.

"Yeah, but stuff you might find interesting today, Tim. I need to replace my laptop for starters"

His eyes brightened at that. Electronics shopping he could handle.

They spent breakfast and the time spent driving to Tim's favourite electronics shop arguing good naturedly about specs for her new computer, Tim holding out for the highest-end processor and graphics capability on the market and Abby maintaining that she wasn't as big a gamer as he was, and didn't need to pay the extra. Her calling him a gamer caught his attention. Last week she would have called him a geek, and she wouldn't have meant it nicely. And she still hadn't called him McGee, not once. While he could get used to that, it still had him concerned about her.

They continued their debate in the store, largely ignoring the new and inexperienced salesperson that was trying to help them. It was clear to the salesman that these two knew what they were talking about better than he did. Bewildered, he caught words like 'system architecture' and other words that made as little sense to him. Finally, the woman caved, and picked out the most expensive gaming laptop in the store.

McGee stood back and watched her haggle over the price with the young salesman. As they agreed on a price a good $400 lower than the ticket, he shook his head, smiling. Poor kid didn't know what hit him. She added a few accessories like a decent mouse and a new case, then went to the checkout. When it was her turn, McGee stopped her, pulling out his wallet and handing his credit card to the cashier.

"McGee!" she made a grab for the card, but the cashier had already inserted the chip into the machine. She turned and swatted at him. "That's way too much, McGee"

So he'd reverted to being McGee.

"Abs, you can't tell me you can afford that right now after yesterday" he told her in an undertone

"I can" she insisted, but her voice lacked conviction

"Sir?" the cashier was waiting for him to sign the credit card slip. He took the offered pen and quickly signed the docket, waiting while the cashier checked his signature and gave him back his card.

"Too late now, Abs, it's paid for"

She threw him a look of mock irritation but linked her arm through his as they left the store. He was surprised at the gesture. Her behaviour was getting confusing. He resolved not to suggest another movie tonight. As much as he'd enjoyed it, waking up with Abby two days running was seriously taxing his self control, and her new, affectionate manner wasn't helping matters at all.

"So, have you thought about what you're going to do for a car, Abs?" he asked as they went in search of a new stereo system for her.

She shrugged. "I could rent one, I suppose, but I really hate rentals. They're so boring"

He had to smile at that. 'Boring' was the last adjective he'd use to describe anything about Abby Scuito, and he had to admit that the usual crop of rental cars was unlikely to appeal to someone who usually drove a vintage hearse.

"Well, I don't mind driving you Abs, but if you're depending on me for transport you're either going to be waiting around a lot, or catching a lot of cabs" he pointed out. She knew that; it wasn't unusual for the team to pull an all nighter on a tough case

"I don't mind waiting for you, Tim" she told him in a low tone. He blinked a little at that but let it slide, filing it away with the rest of her un-Abby behaviour over the last couple of days. He'd worry about that later.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. She got mildly annoyed at him when he paid for her new stereo, calling him McGee again, but she got over it quickly. She insisted on buying a prepaid wireless broadband stick despite his assurances that he didn't mind her using his wireless network, telling him that he had no idea how much she would be downloading, and loads of CDs. The CDs she kept in her lab were only part of her collection. It was going to take time to rebuild that, like so much else.


	7. Chapter 7

The sound of the alarm woke Abby early on Monday morning. She quickly turned it off and lay in bed for a moment, thinking. She'd been trying to figure out her change of heart towards Tim for the past couple of days, but his presence was distracting. As dangerous as she knew it was, she'd just let herself enjoy being close to him. She'd attempted to think things over while setting up her new laptop the previous night, but he'd insisted on helping her. She'd let him even though she didn't need help because it felt good to talk geek with him again. She'd missed that.

They were both back to work today, though, and maybe the separation between them there would help? She hoped so. She liked answers, not this confused state of mind she was in.

She could hear him moving around the apartment, getting ready for work and decided it was about time she got up. She'd set the alarm earlier than she really needed to out of habit; Tim's apartment was closer to the Navy Yard than hers was. Had been. She winced. That was going to stay painful for a while. She shook herself mentally, not allowing herself time to dwell on it.

She grabbed her favourite of the new clothes she'd bought and headed for the shower.

The ride into work was accomplished in silence. Tim seemed to have something on his mind, and Abby wasn't a morning person, at least not until she'd had her first Caf-Pow of the day. On the walk from the parking lot to the headquarters building, he turned and spoke

"Um, Abs? I was thinking, it's probably better if I don't come down and visit you unless Gibbs sends me, at least not today" At her quizzical look, he continued "Well, Ziva knows you're staying at my place, and if Ziva knows, Tony knows. There's no way he's going to believe you just needed somewhere to stay, especially not if I'm down in the lab"

"Oh" Comprehension was plain on her face "You're right, Tim, Tony's not going to buy that"

He nodded "But I'll call you when we're done for the day, ok? Unless you finish earlier" The elevator dinged, the 'up' arrow lit up. Quickly he stepped inside and hit the button for the 3rd floor, giving her a small wave as the doors closed.

She watched him go with a little pang. She'd really enjoyed spending the weekend with him, even in a platonic, friendly way. She'd forgotten what good company he was, and how comfortable she felt around him. How had she forgotten that? It was like the time spent together after so many weeks of conflict had made her realise how much she needed him around. That didn't explain the sudden resurgence of attraction however. When they'd dated years ago, she'd found him attractive in a boyish way. There was something so appealing in his shyness. But that was a long time ago; now he was confident without cockiness, assertive while still maintaining the gentleness that was so Tim. And, she had to admit, the personal training sessions that Tony had teased him so much about really had done wonders for his figure.

She suddenly realised she was at the door of her lab; she couldn't remember even getting on the elevator. 'You've got it bad, Scuito' she told herself as she entered the main lab and started powering up her equipment. In the absence of new evidence, she really needed to start working on the routine testing that was generated in an agency this large. It was time for annual physicals, and Ducky had delivered a series of blood samples from various agents. They could have farmed this out to a commercial laboratory, but the mundane work did at least give her something to do.

Unfortunately running routine tests on mostly healthy federal agents only occupied her hands, leaving her brain free to think. And the more she thought, the more she kept coming back to one conclusion; she had feelings for Timothy McGee that went way beyond friendship.

Chin propped on her closed fists, she sat staring blankly at the computer screen in front of her, not really seeing anything. She didn't want to admit that she wanted more from Tim than friendship. Just because she got a little breathless when he got close to her, felt a little empty when he left, found herself smiling when she thought of him (which was too often) didn't mean she felt that way about him. Right?

'Aww, crap' she thought as her forensically trained mind forced her to examine the evidence. She rested her forehead against the bench. She really didn't need this right now. She was car-less and homeless, and now she was staying with her best friend whom it now appeared she was in love with. That thought made her jerk upright. How had she progressed from 'have feelings for' to 'in love with' in that short space of time? Or had she always been in love with him, but didn't let herself realise it?

Gibbs' entrance, Caf-Pow in hand, was a welcome distraction. Handing over her first Caf-Pow for the day, he asked

"You ok, Abs?"

She nodded. "I'm ok, Gibbs. But my apartment was totally destroyed and maybe my car too"

"You're fine staying at McGee's?" she met his searching gaze squarely

"Yeah, Gibbs" he looked a little disbelieving at that but let it slide

"Insurance going to pay out?"

"Hopefully. They're still waiting on the report from the fire department"

He nodded, apparently satisfied.

"Let me know if you need anything, Abs" he kissed her on the cheek and left as quietly as he'd entered.

The brief conversation with Gibbs did much to clear Abby's mind. Forcing McGee to the back of her thoughts, she picked up her cell and called the insurance company again to check on her car. She knew they'd pay out her home insurance; the car was another matter.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: This chapter is a fair bit longer, guys. Thank you so much for the reviews! Please keep reading :) I know I've posted a lot of chapters in the past two days**

It was mid morning before they got a case. This was the only time that McGee's job irritated him. He knew they had a challenging and rewarding job; it just didn't feel like it when they were stuck doing paperwork. The idle times gave you time to think, sure, but sometimes that was a bad thing. Particularly if you distracted yourself enough for Gibbs to notice.

Today, however, he had another reason for wishing they had a case, and that reason's name was Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo. As he'd assumed, Ziva had told Tony that Abby was staying at his apartment and now Tony wouldn't let the subject drop. He'd already told Tony several times that there was nothing going on, he was just helping out a friend, but Tony still wouldn't get it go. Given their history, McGee had to admit that Tony's suspicions were well founded. Had it been a few years ago, maybe Tony would have even been right. But considering Abby's attitude towards him lately, even Tony couldn't seriously jump to that conclusion. He dismissed Tony's teasing as arising out of boredom and attempted to ignore him. Problem was, Abby's total reversal in attitude over the weekend had him puzzled. If Tony had seen her behaviour towards him, he might press even harder. McGee was glad he hadn't.

Gibbs' characteristic "Gear up" was a welcome relief from both Tony's teasing and his own thoughts. The team sprang into action, grabbing badges, side arms and backpacks.

"We've got a dead Marine at Quantico" He tossed the keys to McGee "McGee, gas the truck. Tony, call Ducky. Ziva, with me"

The team followed in his wake as he headed for the elevator.

The dead Marine corporal was half hidden behind a Dumpster at the back of the Enlisted Men's Club on the main Marine base at Quantico with what appeared to be a stab wound through his chest. For once the MCRT truck and the ME truck arrived at a crime scene at the same time. McGee guessed that they'd been to Quantico so often now that even Palmer couldn't get lost. The MPs had taped off the area before they got there, so they set about the usual tasks of sketching and photographing the scene, bagging and tagging evidence and interviewing witnesses. One of the bartenders had discovered the body when he went to take a load of trash out to the Dumpster. Ducky set the time of death as 6 to 8 hours previously and the preliminary cause of death as having bled out. He and Palmer concentrated on getting the body on the gurney and back to NCIS; Gibbs went to interview the bartender who'd found the body.

Their Marine corporal had been a regular at the E Club; a regular pain in the ass according to the bartender. He was known to be violent when drunk, and that was often. He'd been seen arguing with another Marine, a sergeant, the night before. He'd then staggered off, and the bar staff had assumed that he was gone for the night. Until they found the body, that is. Gibbs got a description of the sergeant off the witness; he was known to the bartenders by sight, but they didn't know his name. He got McGee to pull the security footage from the cameras at front and rear of the E Club, and then dismissed them back to the Yard.

Tony and McGee delivered the crate of evidence to Abby's lab on Gibbs' instructions. McGee thought for a moment about offering to stay and help her process the evidence, but then he remembered two things; the security footage Gibbs was waiting on, and Tony's interested observation of McGee and Abby's interactions. So he followed Tony back to the squad room, sitting down at his desk and loading the footage from the flash drive the MPs had given him to his computer.

Gibbs walked into the bullpen, sitting his coffee down on his desk and calling for results. Ziva had put out a BOLO on the sergeant; Tony was gathering the corporal's records and McGee...

"Boss, we've got a problem here"

He transferred the footage to the plasma to show Gibbs what he meant. It was pixellated and distorted

"Digital artefacts, Boss. It's pretty scrambled"

"Can you get anything off that, McGee?"

"I can try"

"Take it to Abby; get her help"

"On it, Boss"

As he headed for the elevators, he could feel Tony's gaze following him. This really wasn't going to help.

Working with Abby on the scrambled footage was like old times. She even sounded excited to see him when he entered her lab. They quickly decided that there wasn't anything suspicious about the condition of the footage; the hard drive used to record the security camera feed was simply old and had been recorded over hundreds and hundreds of times. Working together, they managed to reconstruct most of the footage. Abby transferred it to the main plasma screen in her lab, skipping through to the relevant time they were after. It didn't take long for her to find the fight between the sergeant and the corporal. She paused the tape, turning to grab the phone to call Gibbs. It was unnecessary; with his usual impeccable timing Gibbs was entering the lab

"What've you got?"

"Gibbs! We were just about to call you" He raised an eyebrow

"Ok, well we cleaned up the tape. It was pretty badly damaged, but nothing hinky"  
McGee broke in "We had to make an image of the hard drive-" Gibbs cut him off

"Can we see the footage now, McGee?"

"Sorry Boss" he shut up. Abby went back to her computer and cued the tape

"We can see clearly the fight between our corporal and the mystery sergeant" she paused the video briefly, on a clear shot of the sergeant's face. She took a screenshot to run through the relevant databases, then started the tape again. They watched the fight in silence for a few moments, watching the sergeant and the corporal separate. What happened next took them all by surprise.

The corporal staggered into the alleyway towards the Dumpster, followed a moment later by the sergeant. The image of the sergeant plunging his Ka-Bar combat knife into the corporal's chest was crystal.

"Abs, find me a name. That's good work McGee, Abby" he told them as he headed out the door.

Abby started running the facial recognition program to raise enough points, then ran the photo through AFIS. Once she had the search running, all they could was wait. He killed time by helping Abby run the rest of the evidence they'd brought back from the crime scene. He knew that Gibbs would want the missing sergeant's identity as soon as they had it.

It took around an hour, but they got the identity they needed. Their sergeant was Staff Sergeant Mark Philips and he lived in a house on base. The team mobilised as quickly as they could, storming the sergeants' property efficiently. They were too late; the sergeant had left in one massive hurry judging by the mess that he'd left. They checked with his CO and found that he hadn't reported for duty that morning. They broke out the equipment that they habitually carried, searching for any clues as to where Philips was heading.

Back at the Yard, Gibbs had Tony update the BOLO with Staff Sergeant Philips' details, Ziva to pull his military records and start a background check, and McGee to check his phone and financial records. Philips' had no next of kin listed other than his wife, from whom he was separated. Ziva's background check uncovered the whereabouts of his best friend, a former Marine corporal who'd been honourably discharged due to wounds he'd received in Iraq. They concluded that Philips' may try to run for his buddy's house in Maryland.

"McGee, get me those phone records. Tony, Ziva, you're with me" Gibbs barked as he headed out again

McGee watched the rest of the team leave as he sat behind his desk. The Boss was pissed about having to head out for a second time to catch the same suspect. He needed to come up with something that might give them a motive, and he needed to find it now.

Half an hour later, he had a partial answer. The staff sergeant had two cell phones listed on his bill, one registered to him and one to his estranged wife. His wife's phone records showed a number of phone calls stretching back 3 months to the same number- the same amount of time that Philips had been assigned to duty at Quantico. When he traced the number she was calling, he found it was registered to their dead corporal. He knew that they'd brought in their sergeant's laptop when they searched his house earlier that afternoon; Abby had it in her lab. Swiftly he headed downstairs; he needed to complete the puzzle before he took the information he had to Gibbs.

Abby was busy processing other evidence when he got to her lab and hadn't gotten to the sergeant's laptop yet. Working as quickly as he could, he signed the chain of evidence form and powered up the laptop. The sergeant hadn't been very computer literate; there was no password protection on the system, he'd never cleared the browser history and his email password was auto saved. It took McGee only minutes to find what he was looking for; two threatening emails sent from Philips' email account. He set about tracing the recipient's identity, enlisting Abby's help. IP tracing was much easier with her assistance, and he knew they were working against the clock on this one. With luck, Gibbs and the team was bringing the staff sergeant in right now.

It was Abby that got the trace through; as he'd suspected, the recipient of the threatening emails was their dead corporal.

'Yes! You did it, Abs. We've got him" in the exhilaration of the moment he pulled her into a hug, same as he had a hundred times. As he went to release her, however, something changed. It was as if the air was charged with electricity. Suddenly he had goose bumps. Looking down into her face, he could see she felt it too. He took a half step towards her, pulling her closer to him, dipping his head towards hers. He stayed like that for a moment, frozen, battling the impulse to kiss her. The beeping of the mass spectrometer behind them broke the spell; flushing, he let her go and grabbed the email printouts.

"I better get these to Gibbs" he muttered as he brushed past her on his way out of her lab.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Sorry for the ending of the last chapter, but I really did have to leave it there. **

**Thank you all so much for the reviews. Special mention to alix33, for reviewing almost every chapter of every story I've posted. Thank you so much, you have no idea how much you've helped me. F.**

Furious with himself, McGee hurried down the hallway towards the interrogation rooms. What in the hell was wrong with him? Abby finally accepts him back as a friend and he pulls this? He was lucky if she ever spoke to him again, not to mention how difficult he'd just made it to have her staying in his apartment.

He forced himself to concentrate on the case. He had to catch Gibbs before he started questioning Philips. He turned the corner and saw Gibbs about to open the door into the interrogation room.

"Boss" he called out

"Boss, Abby and I found something. Sergeant Philips' wife made over 100 phone calls over the last three months to the victim's cell. And we tapped into Philips' email account. He sent two threatening emails in the last week" he handed Gibbs the printouts of the emails

"Abby traced the receiving email address to a free webmail account created by our victim. I think the corporal and Philips' wife were having an affair"

Gibbs scanned the printouts quickly, then looked up

"That's good work Abs, McGee" he opened the door and disappeared into Interrogation.

Slowly McGee turned around. From Gibbs' comment he knew Abby was behind him even though he hadn't heard her. This was going to be one awkward conversation.

She was standing right behind him, hands on hips. Involuntarily he took a step back. She was too close for comfort after the last few minutes, and his self control was non-existent.

"Tim, we need to talk" her voice was serious. He nodded

"Yeah, we do, Abs. But not here"

"McGee-"

He ran one hand through his hair in frustration

"Seriously Abby, not here, and not now. I've gotta concentrate on this case"

Exasperated, she turned to leave. He caught her by the arm, preventing her from going and spinning her back to face him.

"We will talk, Abby. I'd just rather we had this conversation in private. I'll come down to the lab as soon as I'm done ok?"

Wordlessly she pulled her arm out of his grasp and walked away down the corridor. He watched her go, trying to figure out how he was going to explain to her later. Knowing that he was supposed to be watching the interrogation, he pulled open the door into Observation and slipped into the room quietly.

Usually watching Gibbs break a suspect was one of the more interesting parts of his job, and he knew that this one was going to be easy; the evidence was pretty well cut and dried. The case was watertight even without a confession. But today he couldn't concentrate. His mind was racing. How was he supposed to give Abby an explanation? She could read him like a book, she'd realise very quickly if he only told her the partial truth, and then she'd demand the whole story. He couldn't give her the whole truth- that he'd been in love with her for years-he couldn't risk losing her out of his life completely. How exactly did you tell someone that you couldn't live without them when they didn't feel the same way? Especially when they were your house guest?

The staff sergeant proved to be harder to crack than they'd suspected. He tried to explain the threatening emails as extravagant language, nothing more, and denied any knowledge of his wife's affair. It was only after Gibbs showed him the footage from the E Club security cameras that he broke down.

After arranging for the sergeant to be transported to the brig at Quantico, McGee finally went back to his desk in the bullpen to write up his case notes. He glanced at his watch as he printed off the report; 9.10pm.

'Crap, Abby' he thought. He filed the paperwork he needed and headed for the elevator, waving goodbye to Tony and Ziva as he passed.

When he got downstairs, the lab was in darkness. All the equipment had been shut down for the night, and Abby was nowhere to be seen. He pulled out his cell and dialled her number, but she rejected the call.

Suddenly tired, he walked with leaden steps out to the parking lot. He'd see if she was at home first, he told himself, before he let himself worry.

Abby sighed as she retraced her steps from Interrogation back to her lab. She'd followed Tim on impulse after their almost-kiss, knowing she just couldn't let him leave like that. She'd told him they needed to talk, and they did, but she had absolutely no idea what to say to him. The knowledge that she was in love with Tim was too new for her to be able to talk about it. She didn't even know how he felt about her. She knew he was attracted to her; the last half an hour had proven that; but there was a big gap between attraction and love. Once again she found herself sitting at her computer desk mulling over a dilemma.

She could have stopped their almost kiss, should have stopped it. She didn't want to risk her heart on Tim if he didn't love her. But it had felt so good to be held by him and the temptation to steal one kiss was too great. Remembering the intense look in his deep green eyes as he bent his head towards her and the way her skin tingled as he wrapped his arms around her, she realised that getting a ride home with Tim tonight was a bad idea. Her self control was pitiful at the best of times and it was obvious to her that his wasn't strong at the moment either. The two of them seated as close as his sports car demanded was going to lead to serious problems.

She checked the time. It was late enough for her to leave without anyone commenting. Quickly she shut down her machinery and left her lab. She'd hail a cab and take it back to Tim's apartment.

She paid the cabby off and climbed the stairs to Tim's apartment, using the key he'd had cut for her to open the door. It felt slightly odd to go into his home when he wasn't there. She'd done it a few times before, to check on things for him while he was away. But she'd always used his spare key; she'd never had one of her own. It was silly, but it felt different somehow. More permanent, maybe. The stray thought made her smile and stress at the same time. Permanence with Tim sounded pretty good to her right now, but at the same time the prospect of a permanent commitment with anyone triggered her flight or flight instincts. Another reason why she couldn't tell him she loved him. What happened if she did and then she couldn't handle that sort of relationship? The mention of commitment had always been her cue to break things off.

She dumped her things in her room, then picked up the clothes Tim had lent her for the first night she stayed here. She had bought pyjamas in the shopping spree she and Ziva had shared. But his clothes smelled like him and it was too much to resist. She really needed a shower to help clear her head

She stayed in the shower for much too long, letting the hot water ease the knots out of her shoulders. Not bothering to dry her hair, she wandered out to the lounge room and flopped down on the couch. Turning the television on for background noise, she settled in to think.

She still didn't have a clue what to tell Timmy about what had happened earlier. On top of that, Gibbs had distracted her this morning while she was trying to figure out how long she'd felt like this. She'd always explained the little surges of annoyance she got when another woman paid attention to Tim away to herself as concern; that the other women weren't good enough for them, or were using him. He was her best friend; it was natural to be concerned about him. Making herself re-examine her behaviour over the years, she could admit to herself now that it was pure jealousy. She was jealous because she'd pushed him away, run like usual, and now someone else wanted him. He was hers; she just didn't know she wanted him. And she'd always flirted a little with him, at first partly because it was fun to watch his reaction. Once he'd gotten over being flustered by her, he'd started flirting back, and it had quickly turned into a game. It was safe, flirting with him because he didn't expect her to follow through. Now she had to wonder, did she flirt with him because subconsciously she wanted to follow through?

The sound of her cell phone ringing made her jump. She grabbed it, accidentally hitting the call reject button as she did so. She opened the call log to see who had called her, but the battery died as she accessed it. She'd meant to plug it in when she got home, but she'd forgotten about it.

The distraction made her realise how late it was. Tim was supposed to meet her in the lab when he was done, and she hadn't let him know she was leaving earlier. She picked up his landline phone to call him and let him know she was ok, then put it back down. She couldn't' remember his number. She'd always had it saved under 'McGee' in her cell, so she hadn't had to actually dial his number in years. She hoped he wasn't too worried when he got downstairs and found it dark.

She'd been so lost in thought that she hadn't even noticed that she was hungry. She picked the phone up again and called to order a pizza. Tim should be home soon. Meanwhile she still hadn't thought about what to say to him. Maybe she'd just wait and see what he said first.

McGee breathed a sigh of relief as he pulled the Porsche into the parking lot for his building. There were lights on in his apartment; Abby had just gone home early. He got out of the car and started climbing the stairs slowly. He was strangely nervous to enter his own home, knowing that Abby was waiting to talk to him. How angry was she? He'd crossed a line this afternoon. It didn't matter that the line was a blurry thing, he'd still crossed it.

He opened the door and put his backpack down in its usual spot, then looked around warily for Abby. She was curled up on the couch, watching him. He greeted her, trying to sound as normal as possible

"Hey Abs, how did you get home?"

She got up and came over to him

"I caught a cab. I ordered pizza, it should be here soon"

"Thanks, I'm starving" He paused for a second, then asked "Why did you take a cab?"

She shifted nervously before answering

"Your car seats are really close together" she could see the confusion on his face, so she hurried to explain "The seats in your car, they're really close together... I just didn't think it was a good idea for us both to take your car after this afternoon"

He closed his eyes for a moment. He was afraid of this, that she'd withdraw from him again because he'd almost kissed her.

"Abby, about this afternoon... I don't know what came over me, whether it was just cracking the case so quickly or what it was. I'm really sorry Abs. It won't happen again, I promise. The last thing I want to do is make things awkward between us again"

She nodded. "Just see that it doesn't" she told him teasingly, but her eyes were sad.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: As I wrote this, it occurred to me that this is the longest story I've written so far. Funny thing is that originally I intended it to be around the 4 or 5 chapter mark. It just kept expanding. Thanks for staying along for the ride. F.**

As he'd feared, their almost kiss had made things awkward. Though they'd both tried to act normally, there was a constraint between them that hadn't been there on Sunday night.

He sat at his desk in the bullpen, trying to think of a way to take back his stupid action. He'd replayed that moment over and over in his mind; he couldn't help but think about it. He'd known at the time that it was a bad idea to submit to this particular impulse, but he was so tired of constantly having to control himself. If the mass spec hadn't beeped when it did, God knows what might have happened. And yet... as he'd let her go, he could have sworn he'd seen disappointment in her eyes. He must have imagined it. 'Wishful thinking, Timothy' he told himself.

Gibbs entered the squad room, cup of coffee in hand. The team watched him covertly, hoping he'd tell them to gear up. Instead he sat down at his desk and dropped his badge and gun into the top drawer.

"DiNozzo, David, you've got reports to finish. They were supposed to be on my desk by 2200 hours last night" McGee couldn't conceal a smile as he saw Tony and Ziva wince.

"McGee, Abby needs a hand in the lab, some computer thing. Help her"  
"On it, Boss" he grabbed his pack and went to the elevator. As the doors closed he could see Tony's suspicious gaze.

He entered the lab to find Abby staring in disgust at a screen full of encrypted data.

"Hey Abs, Gibbs said you need my help. What do you have?" he asked

"Some project for the Director. Cybercrimes sent this laptop up; they couldn't break the encryption on it so they've asked me to do it. But the algorithms they've used, they're like nothing I've ever seen before. Cybercrimes got through 5 levels of encryption before they got stuck and called me"

"Right, let's have a look"

She set up another image of the laptop's hard drive on her second computer so they could each work on a screen and they got to work.

After a while, evidence from other team's cases started the usual slow trickle into Abby's lab and she had to start processing it, leaving McGee to try to break into the laptop hard drive. As she moved around the lab running her usual battery of tests, she watched him covertly. She decided she loved his look of concentration, brow furrowed and full lower lip slightly pouted as he typed. He was so absorbed in the hinky computer that he barely noticed when she came and stood beside him, running prints through the AFIS database

"Hah. Hey Abs, I think I've got something" he called a few minutes later without taking his eyes off the screen

"I'm right here, Tim" she said amusedly. Her voice came from right behind him, making him jump "Sorry didn't mean to startle you. What have you got?" She leaned over his shoulder a little to see what he was trying to show her. She was quickly almost as absorbed as he had been before, leaning further over his shoulder as they typed on the same keyboard, trying to force their way through the encryption.

Their simultaneous cry of "Got it!" and accompanying high fives were observed by Tony, resting against the door jamb with an evidence crate in his hands. When Abby went back to leaning against McGee's back, he cleared his throat, making the other two jump. Abby was the first to turn around. Seeing Tony with the evidence crate, she rushed over.  
"What have you got for me, Tony?" she asked, a little too cheerfully

"Training accident at Annapolis. This is the petty officer's kit, Gibbs wants it checked out"

"Do you need me back upstairs, Tony?" McGee asked

"No, Probie, Boss wants you down here still" McGee nodded and turned back to the computer. There was another, tougher layer of encryption to go.

Tony stayed and chatted with Abby for a few minutes while she signed for the evidence in the crate, noting how often her eyes went to the intent figure of McGee. He left the lab with one thought. There probably wasn't anything going on between those two, but judging by Abby's demeanour, it wouldn't be long until there was something happening. He knew how McGee felt about the Goth forensic scientist. He just hoped Abby was as serious.

The 7th layer of encryption on the laptop turned out to be the last, and was by far the hardest to crack. It didn't help that Abby couldn't give her full attention to the laptop, having to help while she waited for results to come back from the evidence she was processing.

Taking a break to run for coffee and Caf-Pow, it occurred to McGee that her restrained manner of the night before had totally disappeared. If anything, she was more physically affectionate than usual. She had his self control in tatters. Usually he could tell when he was about to be on the receiving end of an Abby hug and steel himself for it, but this wasn't the normal, huggy Abby. This was different; she kept leaning over his shoulder and sharing his keyboard, which wasn't unusual. She'd done that many times. But she also kept brushing against him at odd moments, so slightly that it could have been an accident. Except for the fact that it kept happening, that is. Her behaviour had him totally bewildered. In the space of 5 days, she'd gone from ignoring him to appealing to him for help, fallen asleep in his arms twice, withdrawn from him again and unless he was mistaken, was now subtly flirting with him. He was going mad trying to keep up.

He re-entered her lab and deposited her Caf-Pow in front of her where she sat trying to break through the 7th layer of encryption. She rewarded him with the grin that never failed to make his heart skip a beat. Good enough thanks for him. He leant over her shoulder to see what progress she'd made while he was out. She turned her head towards him slightly as she filled him in on the idea she'd had in his absence. She was so close to him. He could smell her gunpowder perfume and the scent that was just her. Feeling slightly dizzy, he took a half step sideways. She was driving him crazy. He glanced at her and caught the slight triumphant gleam in her eye. She knew what she was doing to him alright. Now he had to figure out what to do about it.

It was almost a relief when they finally cracked through the last layer of encryption and turned the laptop back over to Cybercrimes. He stood up, stretching his back to ease the cramping muscles from hunching over the computer all day, told Abby he'd be back to get her later and escaped back to the squad room. He needed to put some distance between them for the moment if he was going to have enough impulse control left to drive them home. As Abby had pointed out last night, the seats in his Porsche really were close together, and he really wasn't coping with being that close to her right now

Back at his desk, Gibbs got him to start running background checks on the dead petty officer while they waited on Ducky's autopsy report and Abby's forensics. He could find nothing out of the ordinary; the petty officer was single, lived in rented housing a few miles from base, had no unusual financial or phone activity, and drove a cheap car. Around mid afternoon, Abby appeared from downstairs with the petty officer's kit in her hands

"Your petty officer's kit is clean, Gibbs" she announced "I ran every test I can think of, and I can't find any evidence of anything hinky" Gibbs gestured for her to give the crate to DiNozzo, so she handed it over and left.

"That concurs with Ducky's autopsy report. This was just a training accident. DiNozzo, return the petty officer's kit to Annapolis"

"Sure Boss"

"Mind if I go too, Boss? I could use the break" McGee asked hopefully

"Go on, go with Tony"

"Thanks Boss"

Tony gave him a questioning look as he followed him to the elevator, but stuck to small talk until they got in the car and pulled out of the lot.

"Spill it, Probie" he demanded "You didn't tag along just to get out of the office, so talk"

He heaved a sigh

"Ok, fine. It was either you or Gibbs, and his track record with women is terrible. I need some advice..."

Late that afternoon, Tony came down to Abby's lab bearing a Caf-Pow. It was still slow upstairs; he stayed for a few minutes, leaning against her computer shelves. He asked her how her search for a new apartment was going, and if the insurance companies had finally decided to pay out, teasing her a little about being homeless. She took from him because it was Tony, and she knew that it was his way of showing concern for her.

Suddenly he dropped the jokey manner, becoming serious

"Abs, what's going on between you and McGee?" he asked

"I don't know what you're talking about, Tony." She responded innocently, but she wouldn't meet his eyes

"Ok, well, the last few months you've been ignoring him, and then since you've been staying at his apartment you suddenly can't keep your eyes off him" he elaborated

"Oh" she took a deep breath "That obvious huh?"

"Yeah. Look, Abs, you can't mess with him like this. He's not the same green kid he was when you were dating years ago. He's not going to settle for a fling, not with you. So before you go any further, you need to figure out what you want from him"

She shifted, clearly uncomfortable under his gaze

"Abby"

"I know, Tony. It's like these past few days I've been able to see everything that made me go out with him in the first place all over again, and I can't help myself"

He waited for a moment after she stopped, then asked

"Abby, are you in love with McGee?"

She nodded slowly

Smiling, he reached out and squeezed her shoulder

"Then tell him, Abs. Poor Probie's confused as hell"

Whistling softly to himself, he turned and left. At the doorway, he paused  
"Oh, by the way. Gibbs is about to let us go for the night. I'd start shutting stuff down if I were you"


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Sorry for all the cliffhangers guys, but the chapters just seem to end there naturally. Hope you like this one! F**

The ride home was one of the least comfortable trips McGee could remember. They both tried to keep up a stream of friendly banter, but he was acutely aware of her, sitting almost shoulder to shoulder with him. He could feel her watching him and tried desperately to concentrate on driving through the usual crazy DC traffic. Once he made the mistake of glancing towards her when he stopped at a red light. Their eyes locked and the air began to tingle with the same electricity he'd felt in her lab. He missed the light changing to green and got beeped at by the car behind. As he belatedly took off, he could hear Abby's low chuckle.

He pulled into a drive through for takeout on the way home, telling himself that he really needed to start cooking again. Tomorrow.

He tried to keep up a normal conversation as they ate, but the words came out stilted and forced. Abby insisted on cleaning up the kitchen after their meal. He sat at the table and watched her. Something was changing drastically in their relationship, but what to? He couldn't face the thought of another fling with Abby.

Suddenly he couldn't take it anymore. He got up and stood behind her as she put away the last of the dishes, making her turn to look at him.

"What are we doing, Abby?" he asked her, his eyes intent on her face. He reached out and stroked her cheek with his thumb, tilting her chin up gently.

"What-what do you mean?" she stammered. He could hear her voice shaking, and took the last half step towards her

"This" he told her. He bent his head that last little fraction and gently pressed his lips to hers. She didn't respond for a moment and he was about to pull away, afraid that he'd misjudged the situation, when he felt her shift, sliding her arms around his neck and pulling him closer. He groaned as he felt her press against him, wrapping his arms around her and deepening the kiss until they finally broke apart, panting for breath.

He looked down into her face, trying to judge her reaction. Her lips were swollen from the kiss, eyes dark with desire. Throwing caution completely to the wind, he swept her back into his arms, kissing her with all the passion he'd tried to keep buried for so long. Her response was fierce, moulding her body to him, tugging his shirt out of the waistband of his pants so she could slide her hands across his bare skin. He groaned deep in his throat at her touch. He picked her up, lips never leaving hers as he carried her into the lounge room. He laid her gently on the couch, joining her a split second later. He looked at her for a moment, making sure she approved of the change. She smiled reassuringly, drawing his face back down to hers so she could kiss him again. He bent his head and trailed a line of kisses down her neck, making her shudder in reaction. He felt her hands at the front of his shirt, fumbling for the buttons and smiled a little, letting his hands drift up under her t shirt. In one swift movement, she sat up and pulled the t shirt over her head, tossing it onto the floor. She had his shirt unbuttoned by now, so he shrugged out of it quickly, letting it join hers on the ground. He reached out and lightly traced the outline of her newer tattoos with one finger, watching her skin erupt in goose bumps. She shivered, reaching up to pull him back down to her. Her bra and his belt quickly joined their shirts on the floor, and soon, by mutual accord, they got up off the couch and made their way down the hallway to his bedroom

He went to move, knowing he was heavy on her. She wrapped her arms around him, preventing him. Propping himself on his elbows, he laughed down at her

"Abby, I'll squash you"

She pouted a little, not wanting to let him go

"So does this answer your question?" she asked

He had to think about what she meant for a moment, then remembered

"Partly" he admitted. He rolled off her, pulling her with him so they were lying face to face. "The rest of the answer kinda depends on what you want, Abs" He sighed. He knew he had to pick his words carefully. The last time they'd had a conversation like this, she'd broken up with him. The last thing he wanted to do was rush her now.

"I'm not looking for a... casual relationship, Abby. But this has to be about what you want. Whatever that is, just a fling or something...else" he waited, half dreading her response.

He looked so worried. She reached out and gently stroked his cheek, hoping to see his expression lighten before she answered

"Tim, to be honest, I don't really know what I want anymore. I've never been big on the whole house in the suburbs, 2.3 kids and a dog thing. I do know one thing though, and that's no matter what happens, I want it to happen with you"

His face lit up as he absorbed her words. Voice shaking, he asked "You really mean that, don't you?" She nodded, though the question was rhetorical. He pulled her against him in a bone crushing hug. "God, Abs, you have no idea how long I've wanted this" he sounded near tears. He loosened his hold on her and kissed her tenderly, smoothing her tangled pigtails away from her face. Smiling broadly, she snuggled deeper into his embrace and fell asleep.

She awoke to find him watching her, a tender little smile on his lips. He flushed a little when he realised she was awake, knowing she didn't like to be stared at. She smiled at him reassuringly, then stiffened, suddenly worried that they'd slept in

"What time is it?" she asked

"It's still early, Abs. Barely past dawn" he informed her

She relaxed against him "You look happy this morning" she told him. His simple "So do you" made her realise she was smiling too.

"Tim, about last night...there's something I want to tell you. I didn't say it then because it just didn't seem right somehow; anyhow, here goes. I love you, Tim. And I'm sorry I didn't give you a proper answer last night. I've never felt like this before, and it scares me a little. I don't really know what I want from the future, but I want it to be our future"

She looked up at him as she finished speaking, wanting to see his reaction to her revelation. The look of pure joy on his face made her breath catch in her throat

"I love you too, Abby" he told her. She stretched up and kissed him gently. The passion that simmered between them surged again, engulfing them both.

They woke again at the sound of the alarm, still tangled together. Reluctantly, they got up and dressed. Midway through breakfast, Abby suddenly remembered something

"Oh, Tim, I have a meeting with the insurance people today" Mouth full of toast, he merely raised a questioning eyebrow. She went on "They called yesterday after you went back upstairs. The fire department released their report. It was just your basic electrical short that caused it. They're coming to bring me the payout cheque. So I can start looking for an apartment"

He swallowed. The thought of her leaving appalled him. On impulse born from desperation, he blurted out "Why not just stay here?", then instantly wished he could take it back. It was way too soon for this.

She froze. Had he really just said that? Mental images flashed through her brain; coming home to Tim each night; waking up next to him every morning; never feeling alone again. Strangely, the prospect was exciting, not scary.

"Do you mean that?"

He considered for a moment. He hadn't meant to say it, it had just slipped out. But the thought of Abby living here permanently with him was like a dream come true. He met her gaze squarely

"Yes, Abby, I do. Move in with me"


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Here it is folks, the last chapter. I may write a sequel yet, but I don't know yet.**

**Thank you for staying along for the ride. F.**

"_Move in with me"_

She stared at him in shock, not knowing what to say. Judging from the expression on his face, he'd taken himself by surprise. She drew a shaky breath

"That's one massive step, Tim. Don't you think it's a little early?" she asked him. Part of her was screaming for her to take this chance, but before she did, she needed to know he was sure he really wanted this

He looked as serious as she'd ever seen him

"Abby, I know it's crazy. And sure, maybe it is early to be talking about this. But I also know that I don't want to be apart from you, even for a little while. I just don't ever want to let you go. I love you, Abs. But I also don't want to rush you. So just think about it"

He glanced at the time

"Crap, Abs, we're going to be late"

He grabbed his jacket, keys and pack, slinging the pack over his shoulder as he motioned for her to precede him

She spent the ride into work lost in thought. The last few days had been such a roller coaster ride. She couldn't believe it was only Wednesday; what was the rest of the week going to bring? She snapped out of her reverie when Tim turned the engine off. She put her hand on his arm, stopping him from getting out

"Timmy?"

"Yeah, Abs?"

"I love you"

He grinned at her for that, making her heart skip a beat

"I love you too, Abs" he leant over and kissed her gently "I'll see you later, ok?"

She nodded, knowing he really had to hurry or Gibbs would have his hide. He walked briskly off towards the main building; she followed more slowly. For what felt like the hundredth time this week, she had a lot to think about

Humming to herself, she entered her lab and started setting up her equipment for the day, putting her favourite CD in the player and turning it up loud. She half skipped as she moved around the lab, knowing she probably had a massive smile plastered on her face. She didn't care right now.

"You look happy today" Tony observed from somewhere behind her

She let out a small shriek

"Tony! You scared the hell out of me! What are you doing down here?"

"I just wanted to see if you talked to McGee yet. But I think that question's already been answered" he smirked at her "I don't think I've ever seen you skip before" She tossed Bert at him in mock irritation. He caught the stuffed hippo and put him down on the desk

"See you later, Abs" he left

Shaking her head, she turned back to her machines.

McGee walked quickly past Tony and Gibbs' empty desks to his own, putting his badge and SIG in the top drawer. He wasn't too late if Gibbs wasn't in the bullpen, but Tony's absence was unusual. He knew he wasn't early by any means, and Tony nearly always beat him in.

"Good morning, McGee" Ziva called from behind her desk

"Morning, Ziva" he responded cheerfully. A little too cheerfully, he guessed, as a suspicious look crossed the former Mossad agent's face. She got up and came over to stand in front of his desk

"You seem unusually happy this morning, McGee"  
"So?"

"So our little Probie has himself a Probette" Tony's voice came from behind Ziva. She spun, searching Tony's face for a hint of a lie

"Is it true, McGee?" she asked

Tony answered for him

"Look at that smile, Ziva. Can you think of anything else that would make McHappy grin like that? By the way Probie, she looks just as happy"

"Tony" McGee warned. "I don't want this all over NCIS"

"Oh come on, Tim, you can't honestly expect to keep this a secret. You two have been flirting for years"

At that, Ziva cocked her head

"Abby?" she asked

McGee sighed, capitulating

"Yes, I have a girlfriend. Yes, it's Abby. Can we drop it now?" he asked

"Fine. But you'd better wipe the grin off your face, Probie. Gibbs is going to put two and two together"

"Already have, DiNozzo" The Boss' voice came from above them. They winced; none of them had seen him standing on the steps up to MTAC. He came down the stairs and planted his hands on McGee's desk, leaning over him

"You planning on telling me you broke Rule 12, McGee?" his voice was soft, dangerous

"Due respect, Boss, I didn't see that it was any of your business" he answered boldly. Gibbs just looked at him, so he went on "Abby isn't a field agent, so no one's going to be put in danger because of our relationship." He met Gibbs' icy stare, refusing to back down. Gibbs called over his shoulder "DiNozzo, David, gear up. We have a dead sailor in Rock Creek Park" he turned back to the defiant agent in front of him

"If you hurt her, you'll have me to answer to, Tim. Grab your gear"

Quickly, McGee grabbed his pack, badge and weapon. Ahead of him, he could hear Tony tell Ziva he was surprised McGee wasn't dead. He grinned at that. He knew that he had his reprieve for two reasons only; Abby wasn't a field agent, and she was Gibbs' favourite.

Abby sat at her desk, turning the insurance cheque over and over in her hands. The person from the company had just left. They still hadn't assessed her hearse, but here she sat with a sizeable amount of money in her hands. She just had to decide what to do with it.

Did she use the money to buy a new apartment, one where there wasn't anyone waiting for her when she walked in the door? Where she would hardly ever go? To be honest, she'd probably spend more time at Tim's. Or did she take that leap, bank the money and live with Tim? She tensed, waiting for the shaft of panic that she'd always felt at the thought of that level of commitment. But all she felt was a warm glow. She thought again of having her own apartment, and was surprised to feel cold fear at that prospect

"Abs?" she glanced up, startled. Tim was standing in front of her desk, and from the tone of his voice it wasn't the first time he'd spoken to her

"Timmy" she smiled. She put the cheque down and stood up

"You got something for me?" she asked

"Evidence" he gestured over his shoulder at a white crate sitting on the stainless steel bench. "Are you ok, Abs? You looked sad"

"I got the insurance cheque" she explained "I was thinking about what to do with it"

"Oh" he looked nervous "Did you make a decision?" he asked, his eyes guarded

She nodded. "I'm going to put it in the bank for now, Tim. Maybe someday we can use the money for a deposit on a bigger place."

His face lit up as her words sunk in. He grabbed her and swung her around in circles, kissing her soundly. She was half laughing, half crying as he put her down. He looked into her eyes as he asked "Are you sure, Abby?"

She nodded again "I love you, Timmy. And the thought of being without you scares the hell out of me. Living with you... it just feels right"

He crushed her to him, happier than he'd ever been in his life. Abby was truly his. As she'd told him, this just felt right.


End file.
